‘Planet B, where you can be anything you want to be’
Planet B is a radio series that was first broadcast on the 2nd March 2009 as part of a science fiction season. The first series ran for ten episodes and it was Radio 7’s largest commissioned original drama.
For the second series of Planet B, in 2009, the BBC released an online advert using binaural beats to promote the drama. Binaural beats, or 3D sound has been described as the digital drug and it works well with the drama despite its reliance on headphones. The effect is a little distressing to say the least as the illusions created grow increasingly more violent, climaxing with the implied destruction of your own brain. The advert is certainly intriguing as well as in keeping with the theme of corrupted data and it’s survival, providing a strong advertisement for the series. To listen to the advert and to read more on Binaural beats you can use this link
The series follows the journey of an Everyman character, John Armstrong, ‘a real character trapped in a sci-fi.’ (Dromgoole) through a seemingly infinite virtual gaming world (Planet B) as he seeks to find his dead girlfriend, Lioba Fielding, who, after a brief experience in the faulty Golden Moments, he believes to be alive within the game. John, however, becomes caught up with the struggles of his companion Medley, a rogue Avatar destined to lead the other rogues and viruses to freedom, a continued theme which allows morality lessons to slip through into the storyline.
One of the advantages of radio, clearly highlighted by Planet B, is that radio, as an audio medium, does not experience the disadvantages of visual media with regard to location. Radio can transport the listener to incredible places with comparatively low cost simply with narrative, music and sound effects. The listeners can experience a different setting for each episode, whether it is a space station, Ancient Rome or the Wild West. The different settings are brough within an overarching plot line and narrative.
This use of locations is one of the reasons I have chosen to look at Planet B since this is something that I am planning to include in my radio drama, although I am aware that with producing only the start of a full length radio series, there will be restrictions on showing the different locations. Another reason for looking at Planet B is that through Medley’s increasingly active subplot, questions on morality and society, mainly focusing on the new form of slavery (in this case electronics and strings of data) and a desperate need for equality are able to bleed through. Good and successful dramas I believe are not ones that seek merely to entertain but that also encourage positive thinking. Such is the case here with Plant B. Equality and Global Warming are two examples of social issues that I am hoping to explore through my radio drama, although not with such an obvious or violent means such as Medley’s war.
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